The Change
by BelovedSlayer
Summary: He was supposed to be dead, but now after many years, Buffy and Angel are reuniting. To her surprise, he brings along a son that she will meet for the first time.
1. The Return

Author's Notes: Takes place long after the events of Chosen and Not Fade Away, though just to be on the safe side, some things won't be based from canon.

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I placed my hands in the pockets of my raincoat, walking among the limestone fountain that sat in the center of the park. I couldn't control the butterflies that circled heavily in my stomach. They were gnawing at me like a pang of hunger.

The air was cold and the clouds were gray, almost draining my last ounce of energy. I was bone tired thanks to another restless night.

Rain drops splashed against my cheeks and smooth hair.

A storm was about to begin.

Faceless couples strode on by, holding hands, their laughter filling the air as I glared at them with a jealousy I hadn't felt in years. My mind was taut with nerves and seeing their happiness was only making it worse.

The call from this morning was the root cause of my emotional iceberg. It had been from Angel. A man I'd once loved, sacrificed for the fate of the world, and who was supposed to be ashes gone in the wind. Somehow, someway, he managed to survive. How? He wouldn't tell me; only that he and his gang had destroyed the Circle of the Blackthorn.

The End of Days hadn't stopped him from not being forthcoming. I smiled to myself at that. It sounded like him. Come to think of it, how was I supposed to meet him? The sun might not be out, but it was still daylight. He could still burn to death.

I tried to ask him that question, but he had hung up before I had the chance.

"Buffy?" a masculine voice called from behind, robbing me of my thoughts. I would know it anywhere. Even if my senses were stolen, the feeling in my gut wouldn't betray me.

Everything in that moment froze. My heart began to race, and the pulse in my ears grew louder. A spasm coursed through my left hand.

The couples surrounding me were no longer there. "Angel?" I murmured, my back facing him.

I didn't want to turn around just yet, fearing that it was a dream I would unexpectedly wake up from. Not only was he alive, he was standing underneath the light of a cloudy day, not burning into motes of ashes. I couldn't believe it. Confusion and wonder filled my head. I shut my eyes to the rest of the world.

"I know what you're thinking; this is not a dream. Trust me. I'm here, and my heart beats," he confirmed, cautiously keeping his distance. I still kept my back to him.

"But how?" my mouth started trembling, my knees threatening to fold like a stack of cards. I lean on the fountain for support. I had a distinct feeling I'd know the answer.

"The Shanshu Prophecy," was his sole reply.

"The Prophecy? It was real?" I whirled to face him, my eyes immediately drinking him in. He had aged some, but the angelic features were still there. In the years we've known each other, he had always been pale. This time his skin was sun kissed and olive. Crow's feet etched the corners of his eyes. Those chocolate orbs were warm under the gray daylight, reeling me in. I was helpless to resist, but I stopped myself from moving forward.

"Yes. My reward from destroying the Circle. I would've said something, but it was too dangerous. I couldn't let anyone know that I was still alive, not even you. My being alive would had distracted you from defeating The First."

Too many emotions ran through my heart. Anger, surprise, hope, love, understanding. It was overwhelming, like a dam breaking. I folded my hands above my thighs, taking the time to gather myself before speaking. "I understand. God, you have no idea how much I'd missed you. When Fred told me you were…I lost my self-control. It was like a part of my soul had been torn apart. It almost killed me being told that you weren't in this world anymore. _Our_ world. I cried for days. Barely slept or ate. All I did was think of you; what we could had." Tears sprang from my eyes and I angrily wiped them away in embarrassment. I didn't want those couples to see me fall apart. I struggled to keep my composure.

I could see his mouth forming into a thin line, trying not to let a single emotion show. His duster jacket flapped lazily around his long legs. "I couldn't bear not telling you. I almost went crazy. But I had to remind myself that it had to be done. Not for us, but for the fate of the world. I couldn't let the demonic world know that I wasn't a vampire any longer. I was vulnerable."

Hearing him say those words brought a glimpse of hope within me. To finally be able to walk with him in the sun, holding hands? How could I not be? But alongside that hope came the fear. The fear of whether he was still in love. If he still wanted us to be what we once were.

"Are you…do you…do you still want me? Do you still want…us? Do you still want forever?" I forced myself to ask, not meeting those brown eyes. The last words brought a sense of déjà vu. I had never forgotten that dream. Not to this day.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see him frowning. "Buffy, how could I not want you? Why else would I be here? To finally be able to kiss you in the sun and not lose my soul; I wanted that more than anything in this world. And not just that. There's someone I would like to introduce you to."

Behind him, a boy of about seven approached me. With a mop of brown hair, eyes that resembled Angel's, and a smile that made me take an immediate liking, it didn't take very long to guess who it was.

"Buffy, I'd like you to meet Connor. _Our_ son."


	2. That Kind of Love

The Change

Chapter Two: The Kind of Love

"Wait…what…_our _son? Did you just say _our_ son?" my eyes widened in disbelief, my mouth slack jawed. Everything around me moved out of focus while I tried to comprehend his words. I hadn't thought much about motherhood. Slayer duties were constantly in the way to give the idea a serious consideration.

Angel started shifting his eyes at different intervals, avoiding my own in what seemed to be a case of embarrassment, maybe even a touch of shame. It was hard to figure out.

Feeling more grounded, I caught sight of his cheeks turning a shade of crimson. On the inside, I smiled. He was still too handsome in spite of the crow's feet and facial lines he developed. The image brought back a memory of when I first fell in love with him, which felt like many centuries ago.

I watched his little boy hiding coyly behind his tall body, his expression uneasy. I could tell he was a little afraid, not too sure what he thought of me, this unknown woman from Angel's past.

I flashed him a friendly smile to try to calm his nerves. It seemed to be working, but with young kids, it wasn't always easy to tell.

"Well technically, Darla and I's son. But I'm sure Fred has told you about that already."

"Yeah. Yeah, she did," I answered reluctantly, turning my attention away from the boy and onto his father for a short second before turning my head away, shuffling my feet for good measure.

Awkwardness decided to kick me in the ass. I hadn't felt it since I was in my teen years.

I wasn't entirely sure what to think regarding Angel and Darla. After all, she had tried to kill me and had tried to come in between us; tried to manipulate me into killing him out of hate.

I was told that before she died, she had staked herself to save their son.

But maybe none of her evil misdeeds mattered anymore. That was then and this was the now, the present. Nothing else could be prevented to change what had been done.

"I know what you think Buffy. I can't say I blame you after everything that's happened. But I want you to know that you're the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. You're the reason I decided to move out of hiding and come here. I want you to know that I don't want anything else but have a second chance with you and live life again. No more gypsy curses, demons, or the Hellmouth to get in the way. We have a chance for this thing to work out, maybe finally for good, I don't know."

He continued, looking down at the pavement, "And after these long years, you're still my girl. I want you to know that too. Even if there's a chance you don't want me in your life, you need to know that you still matter to me."

I couldn't think of any words to put together after that. I stood in the middle of the park, my heart flipping wildly with a surge of hope I hadn't felt in what seemed like forever, but at the same time, a tinge of doubt floated in my mind.

All the pain, the hell we went through, together and not so together, the endless fighting trying to prevent the world from falling into the pit of hell, losing so many loved ones at death's hands.

I wasn't a teenager anymore. I didn't believe in fairy tales; that everything would be alright with just a kiss and a simple hug.

When you're the Slayer, destined to battle and protect against the forces of evil, you couldn't think naively like that because the world didn't usually work that way; you set yourself up for a string of disappointments. Sometimes it would spit in your face when you were down, when you didn't have the strength to keep on going day after day after day. There had been times where it was better not to keep those hopes up.

Angel being human had been one of them.

But how rare was it to be given a second chance to be with someone you loved more than anything else in this world? That the fates had tried to keep apart for its sake? Getting that chance to turn the page and start over again?

After these years of being apart, I think I knew what my answer would be.

"You know I've always been your girl Angel. I can't say I'm not scared what life will bring us, with me being the Slayer and all, but I'm not going to live this life alone anymore. At least, not without you." I returned my hazel eyes to his brown ones, taking a step or two forward until our bodies were an inch apart.

My eyes took every opportunity it got at drinking him in, trying to preserve him in my memory so I wouldn't forget what it was like to finally see him as human. Suddenly, like a possessive animal yearning for his mate, he pulled me into his arms, his body warm and hard against mine. I leaned my head under his jaw, my hand pressing against his beating heart.

The man whom I had an arm wrapped around felt a light tugging at his duster jacket to interrupt the moment. "Daddy, is that the Buffy lady you're always talking about?" his son asked out of nowhere, startling his father and me.

"Yeah, Connor, that's her. She's the one who fights the monsters and saves the world a lot." Angel fell to his knees to meet his son's blue eyes face to face. From what I see, Angel appeared regal and proud of what I was and what I do.

I felt a warm, tingling sensation in the pit of my stomach.

His boy's face was full of innocent curiosity when he glanced at me, before he said something that almost rattled at my core.

"My dad always keeps a picture of you inside a book that he sometimes reads. He says he uses it as a bookmark but I think he uses it so he doesn't forget about you."

My eyebrows puckered together. "Angel, is this true?"

Angel stuttered, clearly unsure as to how to answer my question. "I…well…yeah. It's true Buffy. When I had my rough days, sometimes I'd take out the picture so I remembered why I had a purpose in this world, that I was not just some monster to someone. You helped me remember why I was here."

That brought me back to the time when he and I argued, when The First had tried to convince him to kill me. Before the miracle of the snow fall that saved him from killing himself.

_Fighting is hard. It's painful. And it's every day. _

Lost in that memory, I watched Angel's expression out of the corner of my eye, knowing fully well he was thinking the same as I was.

"It's not something I'd easily forget. I'm always thinking about it when no one's around." He shrugged his shoulders as if it was nothing.

I didn't say anything else, but to reach up and touch my lips against his. He didn't lose a cue. He held me firmer the second time around, his kiss warm and intoxicating, melting every last of my senses away.

I forgot everything around me except for him.

His poor son gawked at us, mouth and eyes wide open, but at the same time, pulling at his father's jacket again as if it were an emergency. Kids. I laughed inwardly at that, separating my lips from Angel's. Our breaths stopped mingling together.

We had to figure something out.

"So what happens now?" I declared, the moment of light-heartiness replaced by a moment of seriousness. I still had to fight vampires. Angel might be human now, but I've wondered if he retained any of his abilities.

"We decide together what we want to do. I know you're still the Slayer. To answer your unspoken question, the Powers gave me my abilities after the Shanshu happened. We can live a normal life together for the most part. But they've also asked us that from time to time, you and I patrol in case if there's any demons or vampires around. There's a Hellmouth or two that's still active."

"What about Connor?" I peered at him in wonderment, who, at the moment, was returning my look.

"Connor has some abilities, but for the most part he's human. I know people who can keep him safe while we patrol. Anything else?" Angel queried.

I wracked my head for the next answer, then I smiled. "Yeah, where are we gonna live?"


End file.
